Sharing science
Decadal Plan for Space Science
Communicating
astrobiology
in public
My doctoral thesis demonstrates that the scientific literacy enterprise – in all its forms – fails scrutiny. Either we believe our best science students are leaving high school scientifically illiterate or there is something fundamentally wrong in our perceptions of public scientific illiteracy.
The phrase 'scientific literacy' has no internationally agreed definition, making the testing of scientific literacy a constantly moving target. As a result, we cannot rely on our current perceptions of a scientifically illiterate public. In addition, the actual practice of science contrasts sharply with science curricula and high school science text books. A paradigm shift in our thinking is required about what scientific literacy is and in our expectations of both students and a scientifically literate adult public.
In the worst case scenario, governments are pouring millions of dollars into science education and public outreach with little or no basis for understanding whether either is effective. That is illogical, even irresponsible. It also impacts on the way science is communicated in public.